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ocd: checking
You're on a road trip, driving just beyond the city limits now, or boarding the plane that will take you to your holiday destination, when the thoughts occur to you: Did I lock the front door? Was the coffee maker unplugged? Is the stove off? You have thoughts in that moment of someone entering the house and stealing your belongings or an electrical fire breaking out in the kitchen. You just can't remember and you love and value your house and don't want to endanger it. What do you do?
Many people know what this experience is like. Sometimes, we are able to retrace our steps and to recall that we did in fact lock the door or turn off the stove. For the person with OCD, the doubts about whether they did the proper thing and the anxiety about possible negative outcomes provoked by the images and thoughts may be too intense. They will feel they have to do something, to take action to reduce that anxiety. In this case, the anxiety provoking thoughts that will not diminish or be reasoned with are obsessions. The actions someone takes to try to reduce the anxiety, like driving back home to check the locks is a compulsion.
There were many times I would return home several times in a day to check the locks or stove, or return to work in the evening after having been the last one to lock up, in order to check if the door was locked. The door was always locked and the stove off. It didn't matter. Sometimes I'd get out the door, having just checked the stove, and the doubt would re-emerge in my mind: Did I really turn the stove off? Am I sure?
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While this website deals with issues and information about mental health please be advised that the author is not a mental health or medical professional. The information herein is in no way intended to be used as a substitute for professional guidance and the author cannot be held responsible for any choices you may make based upon the information contained in this website.
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